Days of Monta Ellis: Part III

In part III of the Monta Ellis soap opera (Ellis part I and Ellis part II), the Golden State Warriors have decided to punish Ellis for his actions by suspending him a total of 30 games.

Since Ellis tore a ligament in his ankle that required surgery from the moped accident, most of the 30-game suspension Ellis would have missed anyways due to injury. However, the suspension will hit his pocket, costing him approximately $3.0 million—a steep price tag for the thrills and chills of mopeding.

I am sure some in the sports world believe that the penalty is unfair and not a good decision on the Warriors' part. Why risk the potential of dividing the organization and punishing one of your top players so severely?

The Warriors seem to disagree. They believe the incident is a “very big deal” and have not ruled out trying to void Ellis’ contract if he doesn’t return to form. Personally, I believe that owner Chris Cohan is a businessman first, and sees the incident as an opportunity to recoup some of his money.

In the day of pampered athletes, I give credit to the Warriors for having the strength to stand up to the star players of the NBA. Ellis broke his contract when he rode that moped and there is a reason that language is in the contract. Why have it in there if nobody is  going to enforce it?

In the everyday world, it is like a homeowner who is in contract with their bank and promises to repay their mortgage. When the homeowner walks away from the mortgage and the home forecloses, the homeowner is wrong and broke their contract with the bank.

As you can see with today’s economy, the homeowner and the bank are not the only ones who suffer, but all of us. Well, in Ellis’ situation, when he decided to ride that moped and injure his ankle, not only did he suffer, but so do his teammates, the organization, and the fans.

There are repercussions to actions, and one must learn to pay the consequences.

It disappoints me that there is even talk of an appeal. Monta, at the end of the day you are still going to be pulling in $8 million dollars this season, while our economy will go through perhaps the biggest financial disaster we have ever seen. I think you will be surprised to find not as many Ellis “fans” out there, when they don’t have a job and you are whining about $3 million.